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Hello Dosakkhayo, go see the Rohitassa sutta to get a good understanding.
Rohitassa was an anariya yogi who died while searching for the end of the universe, long before the Bodhisatta was born. He travelled widely, using his abhinna powers, for a hundred years. Eventually, his body could no longer withstand the pressure, and he died. After his death, he was reborn as Brahma. He then approached Lord Buddha to seek the answer to whether the end of the universe exists.
Just as Sir Lal pointed out, this is one of the unthinkable topics. Yogis of the past tried to reach the end of the universe with Abhinnas powers and all died before reaching their goals. It is impossible to reach the end of the universe. Lord Buddha said that it is by attaining NibbÄna that one reaches the end of the universe.
The end of the world can never
Gamanena na pattabbo,
be reached by traveling.
lokassanto kudÄcanaį¹;
But without reaching the end of the world,
Na ca appatvÄ lokantaį¹,
thereās no release from suffering.
dukkhÄ atthi pamocanaį¹.
So an intelligent person, understanding the world,
TasmÄ have lokavidÅ« sumedho,
has completed the spiritual journey, and gone to the end of the world.
Lokantagū vusitabrahmacariyo;
A calm one, knowing the end of the world,
Lokassa antaį¹ samitÄvi ƱatvÄ,
does not hope for this world or the next.ā
NÄsÄ«satÄ« lokamimaį¹ paraƱcÄāti.Ā
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Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu ššæššæššæ You have accumulated a lot of Kusalas Kamma! May these Kusalas help you to achieve NibbÄna as quickly as possible!
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To complete your comment, Christian. It is simply impossible to become sotÄpanna alone. A puthujunas must associate with a person who is at least sotÄpanna, to become one. Your suggestion of a master who follows our progress is perfect!
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Hi Saurabagh! My advice for you is to surround yourself with noble people and carefully listen to sermons on the Dhamma. After listening, meditate on the teachings and apply them in your daily life. It’s said that reaching the sotÄpanna stage is impossible without the guidance of someone who has reached at least the first magga phala stage. Sotapanna has different meaningsāit can refer to entering the flow of liberation or listening wisely. “Sota” refers to the ability to listen and “Panna” refers to wisdom. Becoming sotÄpanna is achieved through attentive listening, not by sight(for example reading).
This website is designed for those who have already attained the sotÄpanna stage and wish to continue progressing. For those who have not yet reached this stage, it is important to listen to teachings and associate with people who have at least attained sotÄpanna. A sotÄpanna is self-reliant and can progress independently. Regardless of their actions, they will reach the stage of arahant within 7 lifetimes. However, it’s important to note that they will not engage in extreme bad behaviour. See Ratanasutta. Additionally, a sotÄpanna who associates with someone who has a higher level is likely to progress more quickly than if they were to progress alone. The Maha Sangha is available to support us, but ultimately, it’s up to each individual to choose their own path. However, it is impossible to become sotÄpanna alone!
The best place to find noble individuals is within the Maha Sangha (monastic community). Becoming sotÄpanna is not solely achieved through self-study and practice. If that were the case, one would only need to take refuge in the Buddha and the Dhamma, rendering the Sangha unnecessary.Ā See Taking refuge in the Sangha involves listening to the sermons given by noble individuals and following their guidance. If any of the “jewels” (Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha) is missing, NibbÄna remains unattainable, which is why we take refuge in the Triple Gem. There are monks from the Jethavaranama Monastery in Sri Lanka who share sermons on their YouTube channels and hold private meetings with lay people. This monastery was founded by a disciple of Venerable Waharaka Thero. If you’re interested, I can refer you to them and they will do a personal online meeting!
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Arahant SopÄka: Enlightened at seven years of age
Early back ground of Arahant SopÄka
During the time of the Buddha, there was a seven-year-old boy named SopÄka. When his natural father died, his mother remarried another man. His stepfather was not a very good man who scolded and beat SopÄka regularly despite his motherās pleas not to do so. After some time, another baby boy was born to his mother. Since the birth of his younger brother, step fatherās attitude towards SopÄka became worse. One day the stepfather decided to get rid of SopÄka for good and while his mother was away from the house, the stepfather took SopÄka to a cemetery ground and tied him to a freshly brought dead body. SopÄka cried pleading with his stepfather not to leave him tied up, but the stepfather turned a deaf ear and went home.
During the night, SopÄka heard the cries of jackals, tigers, leopards and other animals who were coming to the cemetery to feed on the dead bodies. Hearing the cries of those animals, SopÄka became terrified. Shivering in the cold and terrified, SopÄka cried for help but as the cemetery ground was away from the city, no one could hear his cries.
Becoming a Stream Enterer (SotÄpanna)
As the Buddha was surveying the world through the Buddhaās super normal divine vision to see who could be spiritually helped on that day, SopÄka came into the Buddhaās vision. The Buddha saw that young SopÄka who was tied to a dead body in the cemetery was terrified and crying and that he also possessed matured spiritual faculties to gain enlightenment on that day. The Buddha appeared before SopÄka displaying a light of halo rays and said to SopÄka:
āSon, donāt cry. Donāt be afraid. I will help you escapeā.
When SopÄka heard the Buddhaās ensuring voice and contemplated the Buddhaās kindness, he attained the first supra mundane stage of Stream Entry (SotÄpanna). The ropes that tied SopÄka to the dead body were broken through the Buddhaās will. The Buddha then consoled and comforted SopÄka and holding his hand, took him to the Jetavana monastery where the Buddha arranged for him to be cleaned and bathed.
Enlightenment and ordination as a novice monk
In the meantime, SopÄkaās mother who had gone out returned to the house and not been able to see her son, enquired from her husband as to where SopÄka was. When he said he did not where SopÄka was, she went out looking for SopÄka but could not find him anywhere. The mother could not sleep the whole night worrying about her son and in her desperation, early next morning she went to the Jetavana Monastery to seek the Buddhaās advice as she had heard that the Buddhas knew all, past, future and present. When she arrived at the monastery, the Buddha through supernormal power, made SopÄka invisible to his mother.
When SopÄkaās mother said to the Buddha: āVenerable Sir, I cannot find my son anywhereā, the Buddha gave the following brief sermon to her.
āSons are no shelter nor father, nor any kinsfolk.
Ā For one overtaken by death, blood bond is no refuge.ā
When the mother heard the Buddhaās brief sermon, she became a Stream Enterer (SotÄpanna), while SopÄka having heard the same sermon given to his mother, gained enlightenment as an Arahant. Then the Buddha made SopÄka visible to his mother who was overjoyed to see her son. When the mother was told that SopÄka had gained enlightenment as an Arahant, she consented for him to go forth and ordain as a novice monk.
Higher ordination
Shortly afterwards, the Buddha wanted to consider offering higher ordination (upasampadÄ) to novice SopÄka and asked him ten questions which are recorded in the Khuddaka pÄtha of the Khuddaka NikÄya (collection of the Buddhaās minor discourses as the āBoyās questions (KumÄra panha). The ten questions asked by the Buddha and the answers given by novice SopÄka are as follows:
What is one?
All beings subsist on food.
[The Buddha has described four types of food: Physical food (kabalinkÄhÄra), sense impression (phassÄhÄra), volitional thoughts (mano sancetanÄhÄra) and consciousness (viƱƱÄnÄhÄra)]
What is two?
Name and form.
[All mental and physical phenomena (nÄma rÅ«pa)]
What is three?
The three types of feeling.
[Pleasant feeling (sukha vedanÄ), painful feeling (dukkha vedanÄ), neutral feeling (upekhÄ vedanÄ)]
What is four?
The four Noble Truths.
[Truth of suffering (dukkha sacca), the truth of the cause of suffering (samudaya sacca), the truth of the cessation of suffering (nirodha sacca) and the truth of the path leading to the cessation of suffering (magga sacca).]
What is five?
The five aggregates of clinging.
[Form (rÅ«pa), feeling (vedanÄ), perception (saƱƱÄ), mental formation (sankhÄra) and consciousness (viƱƱÄna).]
What is six?
The six internal sense doors.
[Eye (cakku), ear (sota), nose (ghÄna), tongue (jivhÄ), body (kÄya) and mind (mana).]
What is seven?
The seven factors of enlightenment.
[Mindfulness (sati), analysis of qualities (dhamma vicaya), effort (viriya), rapture (pÄ«ti), tranquillity (passaddhi), concentration (samÄdhi) and equanimity (upekhÄ).]
What is eight?
The Noble Eightfold Path.
[Right view (sammÄ-ditthi), right intention (sammÄ-sankappa), right speech (sammÄ-vÄcÄ), right action (sammÄ-kammanta), right livelihood (sammÄ-ÄjÄ«va), right effort (sammÄ-vÄyÄma), right mindfulness (sammÄ-sati) and right concentration (sammÄ-samÄdhi)]
What is nine?
The nine abodes of beings.
[Beings with diversity of body and diversity of perception, beings with diversity of body and singularity of perception, beings with singularity of body and diversity of perception, beings with singularity of body and singularity of perception, dimension of the infinitude of space, dimension of the infinitude of consciousness, dimension of nothingness, dimension of non-percipient beings, dimension of neither perception nor non-perception.]
What is ten?
One endowed with ten qualities is called an Arahant.
[Right view (sammÄ-ditthi), right intention (sammÄ-sankappa), right speech (sammÄ-vÄcÄ), right action (sammÄ-kammanta), right livelihood (sammÄ-ÄjÄ«va), right effort (sammÄ-vÄyÄma), right mindfulness (sammÄ-sati), right concentration (sammÄ-samÄdhi), right knowledge (sammÄ nÄna) and right liberation (sammÄ vimutti).]Ā
Novice SopÄka gave all the right answers to the ten questions asked by the Buddha, and making that the basis, the Buddha offered him the higher ordination. The following are the verses by Arahant SopÄka recorded in TheragÄthÄ, one of the fifteen books of the Khuddaka NikÄya.
480. The shadow of the Buddhaās hut fell on his walking path. The best of men, the Buddha, was doing walking meditation there. I went up to him. I worshiped him, the best of men, the Buddha.
481. I arranged in my robe, putting it over one shoulder. Placing my hands together, I too started walking behind the Buddha, the one who is freed from defilements, the best of all beings.
482. The Buddha who is extremely skilled in answering questions asked me questions. At that time, I was not scared or terrified at all to answer. I answered all the questions.
483. The TathÄgata Buddha was pleased with the way I answered the questions. Looking at the community of monks, the Buddha said this about me:
484. āThe people of Änga and Magadha offer robes, food, resting places and medicine to this young monk SopÄka. This young SopÄka uses them. Itās a great gain for those people. Those people, having seen this young monk, get up from their seats and pay respect to him. Itās a great gain for those people. Those people have Dhamma discussions with this young monk. Itās a great gain for them.
485. Dear SopÄka, from today onwards you should come to see me. Dear SopÄka, just your answering of my questions is your higher ordination.ā
486. I was just seven years old when I received a higher ordination. I too attained the Triple Knowledge. Ah! See the excellence of this Dhamma.
These verses by Arahant SopÄka state in his own words that he answered the questions from the Buddha and received higher ordination at the age of seven years. By stating that he attained the triple knowledge, he has also confirmed that he gained enlightenment as an Arahant at the age of seven years.
Significance of gratitude in Theravada Buddhism
The ability to experience a positive feeling of gratitude can vary from person to person. While it can spontaneously arise in some people more frequently than in others, others may need to put some effort to help it arise and others find it difficult to feel a sense of gratitude for things done to oneself by others. When one looks around, one is likely to find out that those who have a natural tendency to feel and express gratitude are rare while the vast majority of people do not have that natural tendency in themselves. The fact that gratitude is a rare human quality has been said by the Buddha himself in the Dullabha sutta of the Anguttara NikÄya (collection of the Buddhaās numerical discourses) as follows:
āMonks, the appearance of three people is rare in the world. What three? A Realised One, a perfected one, a fully awakened Buddha. A person who teaches the teaching and training proclaimed by a Realised One. A person who is grateful and thankful. The appearance of these three people is rare in the world.ā
In the PingiyÄnÄ« sutta of the Anguttara NikÄya, addressing a group of five hundred Licchavi householders, the Buddha described a person who is grateful and thankful as one of the five rare treasures in the world. The Buddha said:
āLicchavis, the appearance of five treasures is rare in the world. What five?
1. A Realised One, a perfected one, a fully awakened Buddha.
2. A person who explains the teaching and training proclaimed by a Realised One.
3. A person who understands the teaching and training proclaimed by a Realised One.
4. A person who practises in line with the teaching.
5. A person who is grateful and thankful.āĀ
It can be seen that disciples of the Buddha, both lay and monastic, make various offerings to the Buddha as a part of their religious practice. They are aware that they cannot expect to attain their liberation from suffering through these offerings because according to the Buddhaās teaching, one has to work towards oneās liberation and even the Buddha cannot liberate someone else. The main purpose of making such offerings to the Buddha is to pay homage and show gratitude to the great teacher who selflessly struggled to discover the path of liberation from suffering with no assistance from any teacher, and then taught it to the world so that others can also practise the same path and attain their liberation. Buddhist disciples are also encouraged to show gratitude to oneās teachers, monastics, spiritual friends and anyone else who has helped and supported them even in a very small manner. Another common religious practice among the Buddhist disciples is to perform various meritorious actions and transfer the merit earned from them to relatives, friends and others both living and dead. This practice can also be seen as a gesture of showing oneās appreciation and gratitude to them for whatever they may have done to help and support in one way or the other.
Excellent !!!ššæ
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Lagrade, I admit that the site uses advanced terms and concepts that are difficult for a beginner to understand. Even I didn’t understand certain concepts. This site is more suitable for those who are advanced. I suggest focusing on the monastery sermons because they are very suitable for beginners. They use terms that are easy for non-Buddhists and new Buddhists to grasp. If you want, I can put you in contact with monks who can give you private sermons adapted to your understanding. To begin on the path to the end of suffering, a person who has reached at least the first level of the path (SotÄpanna) must explain it to us. We cannot reach the first stage by reading, we must hear it with our ears. It is When one becomes SotÄpanna that one becomes independent and no longer needs to hear. An average human must hear with their ears, to reach the first stage. This is a personal recommendation, but I advise you to speak with the monks of the monastery to facilitate your understanding and assimilation of the Dhamma! You can contact me at my email [email protected] if you are interested!
Ā Venerable Arahant Maha-Moggallana was able to see the potential for enlightenment in other beings. Venerable Sariputta was unable to see the level of magga phala of others. It was easier for Venerable Maha Moggallana to guide others to higher stages.
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Hello and welcome Lagarde. I was a former Protestant Christian and my father is a Protestant pastor. I became interested in Buddhism when I was 17. I was a Mahayanist for 1 year before starting to study Theravada. I chose Buddhism because it is the only religion that provides a permanent solution to suffering.
You know that as Christians we seek the eternal life promised by Jesus. Just accept Jesus as our savior and all our sins will be forgiven. If we refuse we will not have the right to eternal life, but to hell. When I saw that Lord Buddha said that even the pleasures of heaven and the sufferings of hell are not eternal it was a shock. I had also learned that we are our own saviours.
Lord Buddha is only a guide and not the one who will bear the burden of our bad deeds. It shows that the final solution to all this suffering is to stop desiring the things of this world and to understand the true nature of this world. Theravada is the Dhamma and it is the school which best represents the Triple Gem (Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha). Other schools have complicated things and added elements foreign to the Dhamma.
To develop confidence in the Dhamma, you need to hear explanations from a person who is at least sotapannÄ i.e. a person who has fully understood the basis. You can read the suttas on your own, but you need someone who has fully understood it to explain it to you and help you understand what you have read. We call that noble friend, in Buddhism. After this, you will become a sotÄpanna yourself and your confidence in the teaching will be unshakeable.
You will know how to share it when your confidence is unshakeable. However, I suggest listening to sermons from monks who know how to talk to non-Buddhists. Jethavaranama Monastery is very skilled in this field.
See these sermons to get an Idea :
This website uses advanced Dhamma terms. I share these sermons because they are excellent for beginners. Of course, you can jump straight to this website and learn.
You have the option to have a Zoom call with the monks at the monastery. Let me know if you’re interested! :)
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One Who Commits Evil Acts Will Suffer In This Life And In Future Lives
The first chapter is named āYamaka vaggaā meaning the chapter of āThe Twin Versesā, which contains 20 verses said by the Buddha. The background story of the verse 15, which is the 15th verse of the Yamaka vagga is about a cruel pig butcher during the time of the Buddha, who faced a painful death behaving like a pig and was reborn in hell.
The background story of verses 15
At one time, the Buddha was staying at the Veluvana monastery in Rajagaha donated by King BimbisÄra.
In a certain village outside Rajagaha, there lived a pig butcher named Cunda, who was a pig butcher for fifty-five years. He used to kill the pigs in an extremely cruel manner either to eat the flesh or to sell it to others. He had never performed any meritorious action during all his life. The Buddha was staying in the Veluvana monastery which was not far from him, but he never visited the Buddha to pay homage or to make any offering to the Buddha.
He was then affected by a certain serious illness, and for seven days before his death, he suffered from excruciating pain grunting like a pig and crawling on his hands and knees like a pig. His family members had to barricade him in the house to prevent him from leaving the house. Finally, on the eighth day, he died and was reborn in the hell called Avīci Niraya. During their alms rounds, some monks had heard the grunting noise of pigs coming from the house with its doors locked and had thought that pigs were being killed in the house during those seven days. They reported to the Buddha that the door of the house of Cunda the pig butcher, had been closed for seven days and that perhaps he had been killing pigs in his house. Then the Buddha said to them that Cunda had not been killing pigs in those seven days but had suffered torment as the result of his cruel acts of killing pigs for fifty-five years and that he had been grunting like a pig and crawling on his hands and knees like a pig until he died on that day to be reborn in the Avīci Niraya. The Buddha said to the monks that those who commit evil acts will suffer in this world and would be reborn in a suffering world thus having to face suffering in both worlds.
Then the Buddha recited the following verse which is recorded as the 15th verse of the Dhammapada.
āIdha socati pecca socati,
Ā pÄpakÄrÄ« ubhayattha socati,
Ā so socati so vihaƱƱati,
Ā disvÄ kamma kilitthamattano.ā
āHere he grieves, hereafter he grieves,
Ā the evil-doer grieves in both places,
Ā he grieves and he suffers anguish,
Ā seeing the impurity of his own deeds.ā
- The text explains that sometimes when someone is destined to be reborn in an apaya, their mental state begins to align with that realm. Many people die troubled and afraid because they did not take refuge in the Triple Gem. There are several types of Nirayas. Some are ice and cold, some are thick darkness, some are acid, Some are hot and incandescent, some are sharp and many others. AvÄ«ci Maha Niraya is considered the worst of the hells, the scariest and most painful. This is why it is called Maha Niraya, the Great Hell, in the commentaries. Most of those who are reborn there have committed extremely immoral actions or an anantariya Kamma. Devadatta is currently in AvÄ«ci for many Kappas. However, even those who have not committed such actions can be reborn there if they have not reached the sotÄpanna stage. In a sutta (I forget the name), Lord Buddha said that once someone falls into AvÄ«ci Niraya, it is extremely difficult to escape and they may be trapped there for Kappas. When they finally manage to come out, they are reborn in another niraya and so on. However, there are a few exceptions, like Queen Mallika, who was only in AvÄ«ci for 7 days before being reborn in the Tusita paradise.
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